As the English proverb goes, necessity is the mother of invention. And when it comes to thinking outside the box, it's hard to beat what the Woodinville Lacrosse Club is doing right now on eBay. In an effort to supercharge fundraising, the WLC is auctioning an authentic race helmet from Supercross champion Ryan Villopoto. With three days remaining until the auction expires, the bidding has reached $4,950.

"Whatever the helmet raises, 100% of the proceeds will be given to Woodinville Lacrosse in support of our club’s future goals," Fundraising Director Brian Orton said.

The popularity of lacrosse has exploded in recent years, and the Woodinville Lacrosse Club was founded in 2010 in order to develop premiere youth programs in our city.

"Our club has grown so much, and been so successful, that we need to raise more funds in order to give our kids what we want to give them," Orton said. "Which is a program that delivers excellence. An excellent playing experience, excellent coaching, an excellent administration that supports the players, parents and teams."

After reviewing the budget, the club saw the need for a new source of funding — outside of traditional soliciting from members. That's when Orton challenged board members to think outside the box.

Suddenly, an idea struck him.

"I have the blessing of being an investment advisor to a sizeable affluent clientele, a host of whom are famous athletes," Orton said. "One of which is four-time Supercross champion Ryan Villlopoto. I took a leap of faith and asked Ryan if he’d not only contribute a helmet for our fundraising needs, but sign it, let us take pictures, and help me promote it too through his social networks. Without a pause, he said he’d be happy to. So we got one of his race helmets signed by him. We took pictures of it with Ryan at the race, and after the helmet was listed on Ebay, Ryan tweeted the auction to his 220,0000 followers. We timed the auction listing with Ryan’s clinching of his fourth Supercross championship. Immediately after Ryan tweeted the listing, the helmet started seeing bids, a bidding war took place, and today – halfway through the auction – we’re already at $4,950. The helmet has already raised more than I thought it would."